Training Log Archive: roarIn the 31 days ending May 31, 2016:
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Tuesday May 31, 2016 #
8 AM
Note
slept:6.0 (injured)
Went to the Doctor yesterday. She recommended and MRI for me knee. Will try and expedite that.
Ankle is definitely improving rapidly but I don't think it's ready to train on yet.
Ankle is definitely improving rapidly but I don't think it's ready to train on yet.
9 PM
Stretching/Rehab (Physio) 30:00 [0]
(injured)
Physio. Had some mobility tests on the ankle and it seems to be recovering well. Recommendation was o not run this weekend though.
Then a lot of work on the left quad because of the knee. Need to keep it loose. She reckoned the cartilage got a bit "roughed up" by falling on it in march and that an MRI is still a good plan.
Then a lot of work on the left quad because of the knee. Need to keep it loose. She reckoned the cartilage got a bit "roughed up" by falling on it in march and that an MRI is still a good plan.
Monday May 30, 2016 #
12 PM
Note
(injured)
Put on a race kg or two. Happy enough with EOC overall and a lot of backlogging to be done.
Plan. It's a good one this week!
Ankle is sore but it is a lot better than it was yesterday morning. Cycling to work seemed very fine so I should be able to do that. I will stay off it as much as possible today and then look at cycling tomorrow. In reality the pain and stiffness in my knee that seems to appear after running is more worrying, though it isn't affecting me at the moment. In fact it is less sore while running then when not. Mostly it means I can't do one legged squats which isn't too much of an inconvenience.
Monday - ?
Tuesday - ? perhaps cycle to Donadea
Wednesday - ? very unlikely to be a hill run
Thursday - ?
Friday - ?
Saturday - ? I hope L3D day 1 - tape that ankle
Sunday - ? L3D day 2 - more tape
Plan. It's a good one this week!
Ankle is sore but it is a lot better than it was yesterday morning. Cycling to work seemed very fine so I should be able to do that. I will stay off it as much as possible today and then look at cycling tomorrow. In reality the pain and stiffness in my knee that seems to appear after running is more worrying, though it isn't affecting me at the moment. In fact it is less sore while running then when not. Mostly it means I can't do one legged squats which isn't too much of an inconvenience.
Monday - ?
Tuesday - ? perhaps cycle to Donadea
Wednesday - ? very unlikely to be a hill run
Thursday - ?
Friday - ?
Saturday - ? I hope L3D day 1 - tape that ankle
Sunday - ? L3D day 2 - more tape
Sunday May 29, 2016 #
10 PM
Note
(injured) (rest day)
Tired after a late, but very fun EOC banquet.
Ankle/foot is not good. Not swollen too much but sore to put weight on it leaning forwards. (Did some damage in the relay yesterday).
Stuck in Wroclaw airport for 5 hours waiting on our Ryanair plane. Bit of a downer. Squad game and we got some terrible free food, chocolate croissant, snickers and 500ml water.
Ankle/foot is not good. Not swollen too much but sore to put weight on it leaning forwards. (Did some damage in the relay yesterday).
Stuck in Wroclaw airport for 5 hours waiting on our Ryanair plane. Bit of a downer. Squad game and we got some terrible free food, chocolate croissant, snickers and 500ml water.
Saturday May 28, 2016 #
Running (off-road) 20:00 [2] 2.5 km (8:00 / km)
shoes: Inov8 Oroc 2016
Warm up before the relay. It was very warm and I decided on the singlet. Felt good warming up except for the knee so I took an anadin but it was hard to work out how long until Conor came back. I asked the Israeli coach nicely and he said he'd keep an eye out while I warmed up. Very nice of him. I had judged it a bit short but felt nice and limber.
11 AM
Orienteering race (1:10000) 53:00 [4] **** 6.3 km (8:25 / km) +220m 7:10 / km
20c shoes: Inov8 Oroc 2016
EOC Relay - Team 1 - Leg 3
Really good run from Eoin and he came back ahead of France. Conor was solid, pretty decent but a small bit slower than Eoin. After feeling great in the warm up I was ready to go.
Started after Tranchand in the run out. Told Conor I'd take him in the sprint finish. As soon as I got into the forest though my legs were complaining. Took it handy to 1 to let myself get into the game and got it nicely but the forest was already empty.
I had the less controls gaffle at the start so I had a medium length leg to 2 up the hill. Saw some other controls on the way. Got the control well.
Climbing up to 3 though I realised the extent of my troubles. Could see the camera guy and went to the boulder near him where the control was.
Decided on the up route to 4 but it was the wrong one I'm pretty sure. I was slow through the green and I couldn't get my legs moving properly at all for any of this leg. Going near my 7 a Lithuanian guy flew past at like 3 times my speed and disappeared. Took my emergency gel on the track. Missed 4 a little too. About 10 m too low but in really slow terrain I probably lost almost 45s in the circle. The Slovakian and the Hungarian caught me here.
I managed to hang on for 5 & 6 as the ground was really rough and stayed close for a lot of 7 but the Hungarian had a higher control so I punched it just ahead of the Slovakian who had been following pretty hard,
8 was a tough uphill and the Slovakian got away from me.
For 9 I noticed how glad I was of the singlet and I was not ridiculously warm. Kinda got it together again here though and managed to run up the hill after seeing that climbing more was still the better option.
A small bit of road to 10 and I kinda felt like I could do things again. Beautiful piece of forest too.
11 was into the green. I was moving again and had some confidence. Stayed high to be able to run confidently enough to hit the white and then drop into the control. Was a little hesitant, heard some crashing about and then jumped down a thing with my right leg that should have been my left. Foot went between some rocks and I overbalanced twisting my ankle forwards and sideways and fell off the rocks. Some expletives here. Kept moving but sliding down the hill on my backside and was very very sore. Saw my rock and the Slovakian guy appeared punching it. Tried to get up and run but it wasn't happening. Kinda crawled to the control before slowly getting myself back up.
Started to walk gingerly down the hill, luckily this was the end of the really stony terrain and Ross Morrison of NZ appeared going up it. It took me a bit but I did manage to get moving again on this leg but with 0 confidence I went slowly and around the track. Ross caught me pretty easily but I seemed to get away a bit in the forest for 12 which was a cool control.
So was 13.
Went left for 14 and got it nicely but didn't read the spectator control leg really and just headed off. Route was bad as a result and Ross came out on the elephant track in front of me. He slowed to a walk on the hill which I was totally fine with.
Scared of my ankle going to the spectator so stayed behind but gave a little push on the tiny hill to check out how he was feeling. Eoin kindly pointed out I was stronger than him when I passed him out.
Took the time to have a sip of water and pour some over me but it was terribly warm and didn't do a while lot. Ross tore past me down the hill but I let him have his moment in the lead. Passed him in the forest again but slowed the pace through the green right down. I was happy there was no one close behind so getting the controls was the most important thing. Took 17 in the lead.
I had my plan for 18, hit the open and in. Had a little stumble and Ross went in front. I was happy for him to be there and read ahead to 19 and the finish. Considered the road option while he brought us a little to the right and into the control.
Decided on straight. Upped the pace a little in the forest to press him a bit. Kept it hot on the road and then went for it up the last hill. Apparently he had some problems with his legs that prevented him going uphill so I dropped him very quickly.
Just running to the finish then and I had a good gap so took it easy.
Glad to come out on top in the finish but the race left a lot to be desired. Feeling so empty was terrible and then hurting my ankle even more so. Orienteering was could but I would have liked to be able to race. 22nd nation in the end. I think the emptiness was the heat, similar feeling to the long quali.
Really good run from Eoin and he came back ahead of France. Conor was solid, pretty decent but a small bit slower than Eoin. After feeling great in the warm up I was ready to go.
Started after Tranchand in the run out. Told Conor I'd take him in the sprint finish. As soon as I got into the forest though my legs were complaining. Took it handy to 1 to let myself get into the game and got it nicely but the forest was already empty.
I had the less controls gaffle at the start so I had a medium length leg to 2 up the hill. Saw some other controls on the way. Got the control well.
Climbing up to 3 though I realised the extent of my troubles. Could see the camera guy and went to the boulder near him where the control was.
Decided on the up route to 4 but it was the wrong one I'm pretty sure. I was slow through the green and I couldn't get my legs moving properly at all for any of this leg. Going near my 7 a Lithuanian guy flew past at like 3 times my speed and disappeared. Took my emergency gel on the track. Missed 4 a little too. About 10 m too low but in really slow terrain I probably lost almost 45s in the circle. The Slovakian and the Hungarian caught me here.
I managed to hang on for 5 & 6 as the ground was really rough and stayed close for a lot of 7 but the Hungarian had a higher control so I punched it just ahead of the Slovakian who had been following pretty hard,
8 was a tough uphill and the Slovakian got away from me.
For 9 I noticed how glad I was of the singlet and I was not ridiculously warm. Kinda got it together again here though and managed to run up the hill after seeing that climbing more was still the better option.
A small bit of road to 10 and I kinda felt like I could do things again. Beautiful piece of forest too.
11 was into the green. I was moving again and had some confidence. Stayed high to be able to run confidently enough to hit the white and then drop into the control. Was a little hesitant, heard some crashing about and then jumped down a thing with my right leg that should have been my left. Foot went between some rocks and I overbalanced twisting my ankle forwards and sideways and fell off the rocks. Some expletives here. Kept moving but sliding down the hill on my backside and was very very sore. Saw my rock and the Slovakian guy appeared punching it. Tried to get up and run but it wasn't happening. Kinda crawled to the control before slowly getting myself back up.
Started to walk gingerly down the hill, luckily this was the end of the really stony terrain and Ross Morrison of NZ appeared going up it. It took me a bit but I did manage to get moving again on this leg but with 0 confidence I went slowly and around the track. Ross caught me pretty easily but I seemed to get away a bit in the forest for 12 which was a cool control.
So was 13.
Went left for 14 and got it nicely but didn't read the spectator control leg really and just headed off. Route was bad as a result and Ross came out on the elephant track in front of me. He slowed to a walk on the hill which I was totally fine with.
Scared of my ankle going to the spectator so stayed behind but gave a little push on the tiny hill to check out how he was feeling. Eoin kindly pointed out I was stronger than him when I passed him out.
Took the time to have a sip of water and pour some over me but it was terribly warm and didn't do a while lot. Ross tore past me down the hill but I let him have his moment in the lead. Passed him in the forest again but slowed the pace through the green right down. I was happy there was no one close behind so getting the controls was the most important thing. Took 17 in the lead.
I had my plan for 18, hit the open and in. Had a little stumble and Ross went in front. I was happy for him to be there and read ahead to 19 and the finish. Considered the road option while he brought us a little to the right and into the control.
Decided on straight. Upped the pace a little in the forest to press him a bit. Kept it hot on the road and then went for it up the last hill. Apparently he had some problems with his legs that prevented him going uphill so I dropped him very quickly.
Just running to the finish then and I had a good gap so took it easy.
Glad to come out on top in the finish but the race left a lot to be desired. Feeling so empty was terrible and then hurting my ankle even more so. Orienteering was could but I would have liked to be able to race. 22nd nation in the end. I think the emptiness was the heat, similar feeling to the long quali.
Friday May 27, 2016 #
11 AM
Orienteering (1:10000) 34:59 [5] **** 4.7 km (7:27 / km) +150m 6:25 / km
spiked:17/19c shoes: Inov8 Oroc 2016
EOC Middle B Final.
Picked up the map and had a terrible time working out what was happening. Read the slope as being the opposite direction and tried to do a 180 from the start kite but that obviously didn't work as there was a start chute there. Kinda grasped it then but stayed way high in bad going above the green before realising what was happening. Dropped into the control well then.
After the bad start I calmed myself and made sure of 2. Somehow I caught my one minute Ukranian guy here already. Route out of 2 wasn't great had to hop around the green a bit but got out and then into 3 was rough but I did it well.
Ukranian guy went way right on 4 and pulled me a little. Not the optimal line to 5 but fine. Camera guy followed me for a bit until I git my shin off a rock.
Hadn't really planned ahead for 6 but decided to go right to the path so the climbing would be more doable. It was to be the main climb on the course so I tried to push on but Ukranian ran away a bit here. Johnny Crickmore (3 mins behind) came past as I turned off and he was ahead of me to the control. The Ukranian went left on this leg though so I was ahead of him again.
I could still see him heading to 7, and Laura Robertson who I had started with. I ran to try and stay in contact with Johnny but he got out of sight going into the green over the hill. I knew what I was at though and got the control fine after about 2 seconds of panic when I first arrived in the open.
Had no real plan for 8 other than contour and climb a bit. I did that but missed it for obvious reasons. Johnny came up the hill as I worked out where I was. Behind him came ColmM (started 2 mins in front). Flaked it through the green for 9 and Johnny stayed low for 10. My legs weren't on for the climb straight so I contoured and brought Colm and the Ukranian with me. HAd a terrible line crossing a river and Colm got ahead then lost a little more ground to both of them climbing up to 10.
I could see them in front of me so I just ran for 11 and 12 trying to get back on but I was suffering. Took a little water at 11 I think.
Caught back a bit of ground on 13 but didn't trust Colm into the circle and slowed when there was some unexpected green, the same as he did.
Original plan was to go straight for 14 but I saw that was a terrible idea. Colm left in a mad direction. I read the map wrong and went kind of the same way but not quite as bad. Lost ground on the little incline in the hashed open but got some back by just going straight through the green when the 2 guys went around on either side. I was behind though hitting 14 and in serious danger of falling off the back.
Colm was on line but the Ukranian was way right for 15. I trusted my compass and Colm was just on the very limit of my sight punching the control in the green. I saw him go down and assumed he was going to the road and decided to take a risk and go straight for 16. He did too. I was a bit hesitant in the circle but not too bad.
Kept height and direction well for 17 and then it was just running to the finish. Really suffering with the pace though.
Decent run. Interesting to have a bit of in the forest competition, even if I was off the back a lot. For sure need some more work on my speed and that mistake on 1 was silly.
Picked up the map and had a terrible time working out what was happening. Read the slope as being the opposite direction and tried to do a 180 from the start kite but that obviously didn't work as there was a start chute there. Kinda grasped it then but stayed way high in bad going above the green before realising what was happening. Dropped into the control well then.
After the bad start I calmed myself and made sure of 2. Somehow I caught my one minute Ukranian guy here already. Route out of 2 wasn't great had to hop around the green a bit but got out and then into 3 was rough but I did it well.
Ukranian guy went way right on 4 and pulled me a little. Not the optimal line to 5 but fine. Camera guy followed me for a bit until I git my shin off a rock.
Hadn't really planned ahead for 6 but decided to go right to the path so the climbing would be more doable. It was to be the main climb on the course so I tried to push on but Ukranian ran away a bit here. Johnny Crickmore (3 mins behind) came past as I turned off and he was ahead of me to the control. The Ukranian went left on this leg though so I was ahead of him again.
I could still see him heading to 7, and Laura Robertson who I had started with. I ran to try and stay in contact with Johnny but he got out of sight going into the green over the hill. I knew what I was at though and got the control fine after about 2 seconds of panic when I first arrived in the open.
Had no real plan for 8 other than contour and climb a bit. I did that but missed it for obvious reasons. Johnny came up the hill as I worked out where I was. Behind him came ColmM (started 2 mins in front). Flaked it through the green for 9 and Johnny stayed low for 10. My legs weren't on for the climb straight so I contoured and brought Colm and the Ukranian with me. HAd a terrible line crossing a river and Colm got ahead then lost a little more ground to both of them climbing up to 10.
I could see them in front of me so I just ran for 11 and 12 trying to get back on but I was suffering. Took a little water at 11 I think.
Caught back a bit of ground on 13 but didn't trust Colm into the circle and slowed when there was some unexpected green, the same as he did.
Original plan was to go straight for 14 but I saw that was a terrible idea. Colm left in a mad direction. I read the map wrong and went kind of the same way but not quite as bad. Lost ground on the little incline in the hashed open but got some back by just going straight through the green when the 2 guys went around on either side. I was behind though hitting 14 and in serious danger of falling off the back.
Colm was on line but the Ukranian was way right for 15. I trusted my compass and Colm was just on the very limit of my sight punching the control in the green. I saw him go down and assumed he was going to the road and decided to take a risk and go straight for 16. He did too. I was a bit hesitant in the circle but not too bad.
Kept height and direction well for 17 and then it was just running to the finish. Really suffering with the pace though.
Decent run. Interesting to have a bit of in the forest competition, even if I was off the back a lot. For sure need some more work on my speed and that mistake on 1 was silly.
O-training 10:13 [2] 0.81 km (12:38 / km) +25m 10:56 / km
shoes: Inov8 Oroc 2016
Warm up on the warm up map. Nice little area and not as hilly at yesterday. Legs were feeling heavy on the hills. Dropped my watch at the bag drop and did some drills up to the pre-start.
12 PM
Running (off-road) warm up/down 5:00 [2] 0.8 km (6:15 / km)
shoes: Inov8 Oroc 2016
2x laps of the arena. First one with Regina and then one solo.
Thursday May 26, 2016 #
1 PM
Running (off-road) 33:18 3.1 km (10:44 / km) +209m 8:02 / km
shoes: Inov8 Oroc 2016
Jog/walk from the pre start up to the quarantine via the warm up map. I walked most of the road and it was actually chilly enough. Started jogging 20 mins before my start then did lots of up and down the tiny bit of track. Felt really good before putting my watch away and then doing a few dynamics and strides.
3 PM
Orienteering race (1:10000) 38:18 [5] ***** 4.7 km (8:09 / km) +185m 6:49 / km
21c shoes: Inov8 Oroc 2016
EOC MIddle Q - heat A
Started agressively. Deciding to go straight trough the green. Probably wrong call when there was a quick safe option available but I let myself get influenced by Albin Ridfelt who I was starting with. Missed it and had to get back on track.
Good after that then. Took my time on 2 to get it right in the green and then started to push more for 3 (no fastest split like Conor though!). Really good as far as 5 and was having great concentration and good flow. It being foggy felt more like home!
I was brave/foolish on 6 and didn't have a good attackpoint but it worked out ok. Ran hard downhill to 7 and moving well to 8.
It started to go downhill from here, by which I mean uphill! tried to go around for 9 when that wasn't a thing. Oskar Sjoberg flew past me up the hill towards 10 but I hung on grimly. Missed the control though as I looked under the crag and failed to it. Ran away 15m and looked back to see Alan Cherry punching it. Urg.
Really suffered up to 11 and found some unmarked boulders. Wasn't confident enough to know what they were and went up to early, slowly. Found another rock and saw the open and fixed it. Time lost though
12-14 there were people around (male + female) punching controls and I was ok but not super fluid in the circle. Opened the gas to 15, ran past Tove in the forest but was a little confused by the tracks.
This green bit was relatively poor then. Just sloppy. Too short on 16, tired on 17 and then didn't climb enough on 18. Wandered a bit searching for that too. Should have gone around for 19 but went straight.
The last bit was tough physically. A long running leg with a million camera people taking pictures of Ida Bobach as I passed her out.
Time is not great. Some of the course I was good for, some quite poor. Tried to push on in the green and I am happy that I was able to have confidence in myself even though I wasn't as good as I believed. Overall dissapointed.
Started agressively. Deciding to go straight trough the green. Probably wrong call when there was a quick safe option available but I let myself get influenced by Albin Ridfelt who I was starting with. Missed it and had to get back on track.
Good after that then. Took my time on 2 to get it right in the green and then started to push more for 3 (no fastest split like Conor though!). Really good as far as 5 and was having great concentration and good flow. It being foggy felt more like home!
I was brave/foolish on 6 and didn't have a good attackpoint but it worked out ok. Ran hard downhill to 7 and moving well to 8.
It started to go downhill from here, by which I mean uphill! tried to go around for 9 when that wasn't a thing. Oskar Sjoberg flew past me up the hill towards 10 but I hung on grimly. Missed the control though as I looked under the crag and failed to it. Ran away 15m and looked back to see Alan Cherry punching it. Urg.
Really suffered up to 11 and found some unmarked boulders. Wasn't confident enough to know what they were and went up to early, slowly. Found another rock and saw the open and fixed it. Time lost though
12-14 there were people around (male + female) punching controls and I was ok but not super fluid in the circle. Opened the gas to 15, ran past Tove in the forest but was a little confused by the tracks.
This green bit was relatively poor then. Just sloppy. Too short on 16, tired on 17 and then didn't climb enough on 18. Wandered a bit searching for that too. Should have gone around for 19 but went straight.
The last bit was tough physically. A long running leg with a million camera people taking pictures of Ida Bobach as I passed her out.
Time is not great. Some of the course I was good for, some quite poor. Tried to push on in the green and I am happy that I was able to have confidence in myself even though I wasn't as good as I believed. Overall dissapointed.
4 PM
Running (road) warm up/down 10:00 [2] 1.5 km (6:40 / km)
shoes: Inov8 Oroc 2016
Cool down with Colm and Eoin. Colm had loads of energy though and did an extra massive hill like a mad man. Conor joined myself and Eoin for a bit then we watch Daniel Hubmann not qualifying.
Wednesday May 25, 2016 #
10 AM
O-training (1:10000) 36:39 **** 3.54 km (10:21 / km) +109m 8:58 / km
ahr:131 max:160 spiked:8/9c shoes: Inov8 Oroc 2016
Easy around the middle model.
Forest was very busy as every team worth it's salt was out. Did my best to ignore them for the most part and had a nice time getting used to 1:10000 again. Forest was nice. White was super runnable and legs felt good when I tried a little on the downhill. Did put my foot between two rocks and earned a nice little cut but nothing worrying. Knee feels totally fine while running. Had a little explore after the controls to look at the massive banks and deep depressions. Then had a wander around the path and did a few dynamics and strides to keep the legs moving. Feeling good.
Forest was very busy as every team worth it's salt was out. Did my best to ignore them for the most part and had a nice time getting used to 1:10000 again. Forest was nice. White was super runnable and legs felt good when I tried a little on the downhill. Did put my foot between two rocks and earned a nice little cut but nothing worrying. Knee feels totally fine while running. Had a little explore after the controls to look at the massive banks and deep depressions. Then had a wander around the path and did a few dynamics and strides to keep the legs moving. Feeling good.
9 PM
Note
Solid afternoon of resting. Playing cards and watching TV. Looking forward to tomorrow.
Tuesday May 24, 2016 #
10 AM
Orienteering race (1:15000) 1:31:01 [4] 13.0 km (7:00 / km) +430m 6:00 / km
spiked:14/15c shoes: Inov8 Oroc 2016
EOC Long final - B - 11.4 km 430 m
15 controls in 11.4km. I was ready for some long legs, after doing some prep last night analysing the quali route choices. A lot of people didn't start and the forest was quiet. I had a small bit of pain in my knee when not running but felt fine running so my thoughts of not running were quelled. Kept it safe for 1, went around the green and speed chilled enough, nice attackpoint and control was exactly where I expected. Nice start. 2 was strange as hell but it worked somehow. Was very confused by the veg but knew my line and distance were good so had the confidence to keep going. Found a knoll and bam control. 3 was easy, big crag in front of hit. Hadn't planned 4 but my pre race plan was to not run off without planning it. Stopped and planned, then went long left. Not the perfect route, should have gone left from the control and stayed on the higher road for longer. Right choice though. Felt good running on the tracks here and knew I was on for a better day than yesterday. Had a lot of time to plan the rest of the course here and picked right for 12 but there was a lot of contouring involved that I wasn't super happy with. Latvian 4 min guy caught and passed me on the hill to 5. He went back down the hill for 6 which was a surprise. I wasn't too clever for 6 and contoured for ages, with not great attackpoint. Bit of a slow choice to save some climb. Got the control well though. Then some downhill. Tiny hesitation before 7 as I looked in an unmarked depression. 3rd fastest split to 8 so downhill does still work. Tried to keep my height for 9 but dropped a little more than I should and had to climb a bit near the end which was slow. Left for 10 gave me a lovely run down through the forest and the hugest attackpoint. Here I looked at 12 again with my knowledge from 6 that contouring was bad and though right wasn't that great. Changed my mind to left. 11 I was safe for and stayed on the track a bit but it was nice. Good route for 12 again but not the optimum. A little too much steep climb. Right and staying high was better or all the way left and climbing on the path. I executed what I wanted to do well though and pushed hard on the track up to it. Tried hard all the way to the finish, nice downhill but still solid oing.
Much much happier with today. It probably was a bit easier to be fair but I dealt much better. Good legs and good clear head and I was satisfied.
15 controls in 11.4km. I was ready for some long legs, after doing some prep last night analysing the quali route choices. A lot of people didn't start and the forest was quiet. I had a small bit of pain in my knee when not running but felt fine running so my thoughts of not running were quelled. Kept it safe for 1, went around the green and speed chilled enough, nice attackpoint and control was exactly where I expected. Nice start. 2 was strange as hell but it worked somehow. Was very confused by the veg but knew my line and distance were good so had the confidence to keep going. Found a knoll and bam control. 3 was easy, big crag in front of hit. Hadn't planned 4 but my pre race plan was to not run off without planning it. Stopped and planned, then went long left. Not the perfect route, should have gone left from the control and stayed on the higher road for longer. Right choice though. Felt good running on the tracks here and knew I was on for a better day than yesterday. Had a lot of time to plan the rest of the course here and picked right for 12 but there was a lot of contouring involved that I wasn't super happy with. Latvian 4 min guy caught and passed me on the hill to 5. He went back down the hill for 6 which was a surprise. I wasn't too clever for 6 and contoured for ages, with not great attackpoint. Bit of a slow choice to save some climb. Got the control well though. Then some downhill. Tiny hesitation before 7 as I looked in an unmarked depression. 3rd fastest split to 8 so downhill does still work. Tried to keep my height for 9 but dropped a little more than I should and had to climb a bit near the end which was slow. Left for 10 gave me a lovely run down through the forest and the hugest attackpoint. Here I looked at 12 again with my knowledge from 6 that contouring was bad and though right wasn't that great. Changed my mind to left. 11 I was safe for and stayed on the track a bit but it was nice. Good route for 12 again but not the optimum. A little too much steep climb. Right and staying high was better or all the way left and climbing on the path. I executed what I wanted to do well though and pushed hard on the track up to it. Tried hard all the way to the finish, nice downhill but still solid oing.
Much much happier with today. It probably was a bit easier to be fair but I dealt much better. Good legs and good clear head and I was satisfied.
O-training warm up/down 11:00 [2] 1.5 km (7:20 / km)
shoes: Inov8 Oroc 2016
Less steep warm up map today and I did a nice lap of it. Feeling better than yesterday for sure but the pre-race energy drink up to only 30 mins before start was tight. It worked out okay though. Jogged back up the the tent and poured some water over me then before I started.
12 PM
Running (off-road) warm up/down 5:00 [2] 0.5 km (10:00 / km)
shoes: Inov8 Oroc 2016
Cool down with Colm M. Legs tired and it was slow and short. Bit cooler today though so kept the top on.
10 PM
Note
Didn't hang around for the long final as no TV coverage so headed back to the accom. Had a nice relaxed afternoon before having a bit of a kick about with a football, a little basketball and some tennis.
Monday May 23, 2016 #
10 AM
Orienteering race 1:37:00 [4] 12.0 km (8:05 / km) +440m 6:50 / km
spiked:16/20c shoes: Inov8 Oroc 2016
EOC Long Quali - Heat C - 10.2 km 440 m
Distance is a guess.
Started out up the hill and was feeling decent. Other two guys I started with continued straight up but I cut into the green to contour to 1. Executed pretty well but should have been a bit more direct. Went around for 2 to save the legs for later. the slope was tough though and I saw my co-starters, 1 in front and 1 behind. We all ran along the slope. I got 2 fine and had the firthest, highest 3. Went up to the road for 4 but I was feeling rough already. The sun was hot on the road and I had a hard time getting up any kind of speed. Had no clue what the feature was but spiked hit. Compass for 5 picked off the open bits. Changed my earlier plan and went left for 6. Right was faster for the top guys. Alan Cherry caught me here and I was just ahead of him into 6. He seemed to have the same heat and he went to the same 7 though I kinda missed it too far left. His speed didn't seem too fast and I thought about trying to hang on but I thought the legs didn't seem up for it. I should have at least tried in retrospect. Was helped by him to 8 but already didn't see them punching 9. I was afraid of 10 and tried to keep height. Kept waaay too much. Caught back up with Cherry and the Latvian? that he was with and helped them relocate to the control. Led down the hill to 11. Got to the drinks but couldn't see the control for a few seconds which worried me. Hadn't and didn't spend any time looking at 12 which was a very long leg. Kinda half tried to stay in the train, but not enough to actually stay and too much to make a plan. As a result I took a bad half hearted route choice that meant more climbing which I was already suffering on. This was bad and I lost 4 mins to Conor on this after only being 1.5 down on 11. The gel from the drinks kicked in and I got a new lease of life for 13-14-15 and downhill to 16 for some more gel. Again a bit half hearted on 15 route choice. Needed to be more sure of this. Similarly on 17, didn't want to climb and ended up going a long way around. Toyed with the around choice for 18 but opted out. Wrong choice for me as it took forever to get up the hill. I didn't even execute it correctly, coming to the track too far to the left and then I was really hesitant into the control. Not happy with this and another 2 mins dropped to Conor. 19 was downhill so that was fine but there wasn't much oomph in the legs and it was a slow run-in.
Not a great race overall. Not a huge amount to be pleased with really. Route choice selection was poor (I spent some time in the evening after looking at them in preparation for tomorrow). Effort management wasn't great either. Actually getting controls in the circle was good though and that bodes well for the middle.
Distance is a guess.
Started out up the hill and was feeling decent. Other two guys I started with continued straight up but I cut into the green to contour to 1. Executed pretty well but should have been a bit more direct. Went around for 2 to save the legs for later. the slope was tough though and I saw my co-starters, 1 in front and 1 behind. We all ran along the slope. I got 2 fine and had the firthest, highest 3. Went up to the road for 4 but I was feeling rough already. The sun was hot on the road and I had a hard time getting up any kind of speed. Had no clue what the feature was but spiked hit. Compass for 5 picked off the open bits. Changed my earlier plan and went left for 6. Right was faster for the top guys. Alan Cherry caught me here and I was just ahead of him into 6. He seemed to have the same heat and he went to the same 7 though I kinda missed it too far left. His speed didn't seem too fast and I thought about trying to hang on but I thought the legs didn't seem up for it. I should have at least tried in retrospect. Was helped by him to 8 but already didn't see them punching 9. I was afraid of 10 and tried to keep height. Kept waaay too much. Caught back up with Cherry and the Latvian? that he was with and helped them relocate to the control. Led down the hill to 11. Got to the drinks but couldn't see the control for a few seconds which worried me. Hadn't and didn't spend any time looking at 12 which was a very long leg. Kinda half tried to stay in the train, but not enough to actually stay and too much to make a plan. As a result I took a bad half hearted route choice that meant more climbing which I was already suffering on. This was bad and I lost 4 mins to Conor on this after only being 1.5 down on 11. The gel from the drinks kicked in and I got a new lease of life for 13-14-15 and downhill to 16 for some more gel. Again a bit half hearted on 15 route choice. Needed to be more sure of this. Similarly on 17, didn't want to climb and ended up going a long way around. Toyed with the around choice for 18 but opted out. Wrong choice for me as it took forever to get up the hill. I didn't even execute it correctly, coming to the track too far to the left and then I was really hesitant into the control. Not happy with this and another 2 mins dropped to Conor. 19 was downhill so that was fine but there wasn't much oomph in the legs and it was a slow run-in.
Not a great race overall. Not a huge amount to be pleased with really. Route choice selection was poor (I spent some time in the evening after looking at them in preparation for tomorrow). Effort management wasn't great either. Actually getting controls in the circle was good though and that bodes well for the middle.
O-training warm up/down 11:00 [2] 1.0 km (11:00 / km)
shoes: Inov8 Oroc 2016
Warm up before the long q. Pretty big steep hill up to the pre start which I did early. Then warmed up in the forest with the warm up map (what else would it be for?) Nice to do a small bit of oing to warm up the brain. Then did some dynamics and strides up the hill.
12 PM
Running (off-road) warm up/down 5:00 [2] 0.89 km (5:38 / km) +28m 4:52 / km
shoes: Inov8 Oroc 2016
Cool down in the arena. Warm out so tops off. Met Andreas Kyburz cooling down so was having a chat with him. Kept it short and sweet and then went for a shower. Nice and cooling.
Saturday May 21, 2016 #
10 AM
O-training (1:15000) 42:15 5.73 km (7:22 / km) +175m 6:24 / km
ahr:138 max:166 shoes: Inov8 Oroc 2016
One more long training just a little further up the road than the last one. Pretty close to the middle quali area actually. Felt good and orienteering was mostly solid, when I paid attention. Got a bit lazy on one of them and lost track of myself. Had to do some re-motivation in order to get myself to do anything about it. Feeling happy and good legs in advance of the long q. Weather is warm enough though.
Friday May 20, 2016 #
10 AM
O-training (1:15000) 37:34 5.39 km (6:58 / km) +191m 5:55 / km
ahr:153 max:169 shoes: Inov8 Oroc 2016
Long training somewhere near Jezenik. Conor made a course so I did that course too. A lot more climb today. Legs felt good though. Didn't kill it but also wasn't going slowly. Wanted to try reading 1:15000 at a decent pace. Was pretty happy in general. Small bit hesitant in the control circle and was finding the feature after slowing down. Happy with how I was going through green today though. I think that may be a relatively important thing.
3 PM
O-training (1:15000) 48:16 3.93 km (12:16 / km) +189m 9:54 / km
ahr:100 max:144 shoes: Inov8 Oroc 2016
Took it really easy with Gina around the long model map. Discusses the map and how everything was. Pretty much the same as the training really. Paths are super indistinct. Enjoyable.
Thursday May 19, 2016 #
5 PM
O-training (1:10000) 33:01 4.7 km (7:01 / km) +64m 6:34 / km
ahr:142 max:168 shoes: Inov8 Oroc 2016
Tired after a day of a quick tourist trip around Wroclaw and then driving to Jezenik. Took the flattest 1:10000 training map there was, also with the criteria of being close to the accom. Was pretty bad at first but the forest was lovely. When I remembered that I had to read the map things got markedly better and by the end I was going very well. Remember "READ THE MAP". How many times have I learned this?
Tuesday May 17, 2016 #
5 PM
Running (road) 34:47 6.62 km (5:15 / km) +39m 5:06 / km
ahr:132 max:145 shoes: Inov8 Road-X 255
Easy one. Realised i hadn't actually been running in a while. Up stoneybatter and then around by the polo pitch. Felt terrible at the start, just really heavy but earmed up into it very well and felt great by the end.
Monday May 16, 2016 #
Note
Back is a bit stiff today from the small bike yesterday.
Sunday May 15, 2016 #
12 PM
Cycling race (MTB) 1:12:44 19.75 km (3:41 / km) +177m 3:31 / km
ahr:157 max:176
Curragh MTBO. Good fun alright.
Borrowed Don's bike, with it's fancy "Electric Shocks" and hydraulic seat adjuster and everything. It was too small for me though. Started off ok, though messed up the gears on the way up the first hill changing up instead of down. After that was pretty good. Felt like I really hard to work hard on any kind of hill though and going fast on the flats was tough. Had some epic passing of Regina where she was right beside I jump that I hadn't seen, so I made it look like I really knew what I was doing. The grass is surprisingly tough and finging even sheep trails helped a lot. Kev took time out of me taking longer road routes, when I went straight. The bit through the camp a the end was fun. Some route choices and lots of hammering. Don told me when I finished that I had to watch out that the chain sometimes comes off the bottom sprocket of the derailleur, which it appears had been the case the whole time so I blame Kev beating me on that.
Borrowed Don's bike, with it's fancy "Electric Shocks" and hydraulic seat adjuster and everything. It was too small for me though. Started off ok, though messed up the gears on the way up the first hill changing up instead of down. After that was pretty good. Felt like I really hard to work hard on any kind of hill though and going fast on the flats was tough. Had some epic passing of Regina where she was right beside I jump that I hadn't seen, so I made it look like I really knew what I was doing. The grass is surprisingly tough and finging even sheep trails helped a lot. Kev took time out of me taking longer road routes, when I went straight. The bit through the camp a the end was fun. Some route choices and lots of hammering. Don told me when I finished that I had to watch out that the chain sometimes comes off the bottom sprocket of the derailleur, which it appears had been the case the whole time so I blame Kev beating me on that.
Friday May 13, 2016 #
10 AM
Note
slept:8.0 (rest day)
Legs tired. Sleep was great though. Taking it easy today. Only 2 hard days left before taper time.
Thursday May 12, 2016 #
7 PM
Running (off-road) 2:02:17 17.18 km (7:07 / km) +771m 5:49 / km
ahr:150 max:168 shoes: Inov8 X-Talon 2016
Long one with Shea. Started near the Kilbride Barracks where I went from with Conor. Conditions were very very different though. Sun was out, light breeze. Perfectly warm at the start. Went up Seachon -> Corrig -> Seefingan -> Kippure -> Seefingan -> Seefin -> road to the car. Shea was strong on the hills and I had to work to stay with him but I was a bit better on the downs. A lot of it was very boggy, though there were bits of beautiful surface. E.g. Coming down off Kippure was fantastic, if short lived. I was happy enough with how I was running after the 90 minute mark, back up Seefingan and Seefin. We did pause at the top of Seefin to go through the passage as Shea had never been up there before. The descent off Seefin was incredible. Made me so happy. Shea then waltzed away from me on the last uphill on the road, which was very tough but good training. Great to get out on such a nice day. Had to wait a few minutes back at the car for Gina to re find the keys though...
Wednesday May 11, 2016 #
9 AM
Note
slept:8.0
Feeling very tired today.
7 PM
Orienteering 7:56 ** 1.6 km (4:58 / km) +4m 4:55 / km
ahr:148 max:170 spiked:18/18c shoes: Inov8 Road-X 255
World orienteering day course in Naas. Planned and organised by Eilleen. Event was free and it was a lovely evening. Decent turnout and lots of new people which was great.
Blasted around with the goal of catching Gina. Pin punch technique is poor. Wouldn't have caught her but she made a huuuge mistake on the last control.
Blasted around with the goal of catching Gina. Pin punch technique is poor. Wouldn't have caught her but she made a huuuge mistake on the last control.
Orienteering 6:23 ** 1.29 km (4:56 / km) +2m 4:53 / km
ahr:155 max:166 spiked:16/16c shoes: Inov8 Road-X 255
A go on the second course. I originally picked up the wrong map when I started with Gina and had to go back and change so she had a headstart. I caught her by 11 or something though. A nice bit of fun and then we collected controls afterwards.
Tuesday May 10, 2016 #
9 AM
Note
slept:7.75
Looks like I sorted myself a bike and can do the MTBO on Sunday. 18k on the Curragh. Hopefully I avoid breaking the chain this time.
Cycling 15:53 [0] 3.01 km (5:17 / km) +4m 5:15 / km
shoes: Basso
My commute got logged today for global strava commute to work day. Nearly stepped on a Robin leaving the house. I think he was injured but he was just standing on the path not moving. Was stepping around him before he moved away.
6 PM
Running (road) warm up/down 17:56 3.05 km (5:53 / km) +1m 5:52 / km
ahr:114 max:151 shoes: Inov8 Road-X 255
Couple of laps with Michael W and then drills and strides. Hadn't expected it to be drizzly but it was still warm. The wind on the back straight was serious enough though. None of the normal coaches down so James was having a great time telling us what to do.
Running (road) intervals 3:41 0.86 km (4:16 / km) +1m 4:15 / km
ahr:149 max:167 shoes: Inov8 Road-X 255
Running (road) intervals 21:06 4.32 km (4:53 / km) +1m 4:53 / km
shoes: Inov8 Road-X 255
12x 400m 75s recovery
Longer recovery than we used to do. Watch was not playing ball today and wouldn't lap and then I lost the HR. The first two times were about 85, 81. I think we stayed fairly consistent after that but I don't really know. Looking at the graph, maybe got faster? What I do know is that I was well in the group of Michael W, Sebastian, Niall McG and Anthony who have been faster than me all year. Felt really good, though it got tough near the end, understandably. Very happy with the session.
Longer recovery than we used to do. Watch was not playing ball today and wouldn't lap and then I lost the HR. The first two times were about 85, 81. I think we stayed fairly consistent after that but I don't really know. Looking at the graph, maybe got faster? What I do know is that I was well in the group of Michael W, Sebastian, Niall McG and Anthony who have been faster than me all year. Felt really good, though it got tough near the end, understandably. Very happy with the session.
Running (road) warm up/down 9:17 1.74 km (5:20 / km) +1m 5:19 / km
ahr:136 max:142 shoes: Inov8 Road-X 255
Cool down laps with Sebastian and another guy. Properly wet now.
Cycling 17:07 4.34 km (3:57 / km) +14m 3:53 / km
ahr:105 max:129 shoes: Basso
Cycle home from training. Very wet. Very very wet. Wind was at my back though which was unusual and pleasant.
Monday May 9, 2016 #
9 AM
Note
slept:7.5
Decent week last week. Wouldn't mind a bit more sleep this week.
Run up 12 flights of stairs (2x6) every weekday
Monday - Run to + from climbing, climbing
Tuesday - am strength, pm intervals
Wednesday - am strength, pm World Orienteering Day event in Naas. Mostly helping but I'll get to sprint around it too probably
Thursday - Long run 2 hours - I'd be tempted by the hills
Friday - am strength, pm easy. Wow, in Dublin on a Friday!!!
Saturday - hill intervals
Sunday - where has all the O gone? This is 8 days before the Long Q at EOC but I think a 90 min - 2 hour o-training would be useful
Run up 12 flights of stairs (2x6) every weekday
Monday - Run to + from climbing, climbing
Tuesday - am strength, pm intervals
Wednesday - am strength, pm World Orienteering Day event in Naas. Mostly helping but I'll get to sprint around it too probably
Thursday - Long run 2 hours - I'd be tempted by the hills
Friday - am strength, pm easy. Wow, in Dublin on a Friday!!!
Saturday - hill intervals
Sunday - where has all the O gone? This is 8 days before the Long Q at EOC but I think a 90 min - 2 hour o-training would be useful
7 PM
Running (road) 22:16 3.96 km (5:37 / km) +32m 5:24 / km
ahr:126 max:140 shoes: Inov8 Road-X 255
Easy to climbing. Feeling fairly run down. Nice and warm and just running in t-shirt and shorts. Used this largely as a means of getting to climbing.
Rock Climbing (bouldering) 1:00:00 [1]
shoes: Five Ten
Bouldering in Gravity. Mostly completed flags though did 2 blacks as well. Was trying some blues but not having done this in quite a while has made me lose some technique and confidence in my feet.
On arrival my multi-entry had been used up and I was about to buy a new one. Realised though that I probably wouldn't use 12 before we move to Uppsala!
On arrival my multi-entry had been used up and I was about to buy a new one. Realised though that I probably wouldn't use 12 before we move to Uppsala!
9 PM
Running (road) 25:06 3.96 km (6:20 / km) +5m 6:18 / km
ahr:116 max:132 shoes: Inov8 Road-X 255
Nice easy run home, mostly with Gina. Still really warm out, even though it was 22:00. She stopped at about Heuston and I continued. Enjoyabe and feeling better than earlier, though the downhill helps.
Sunday May 8, 2016 #
11 AM
Running (road) warm up/down 14:19 1.77 km (8:06 / km) +22m 7:37 / km
ahr:113 max:142 shoes: Inov8 X-Talon 2016
Warm up, mostly with Laurence, scoping out the final descent.
Running (off-road) race 1:30:43 15.27 km (5:56 / km) +728m 4:48 / km
ahr:164 max:176 shoes: Inov8 X-Talon 2016
IMRA Ballybraid
Tried to pace myself up the long fire road climb to Mullacor. Was with Mike Jordan and Becky Quin and some others at the start but did drop off a bit and was behind someone. Took a different route and cut up through the forest to the higher road and gained a few seconds to come out basically with them again. Alan Ayling was about too. Mostly power walked into the mist on the open mountain and was feeling pretty tired but was still moving ok and in a decent place. The top of Mullacor was totally shrouded in fog where there was a Gina telling me not to go into the mud pit. The descent was a bit vague at the top with the fog but I ran it confidently. Passed Becky pretty quickly off Mullacor and it cleared up to let me see a few people in front. Some walker guy seemed pretty angry and shouted at me "Tell your mates to watch where they're running". There were a lot of walkers. Worked on the reeling in the people in front but it was quite spread out and had only gained two places by Shay Elliot, including an injured Laurence. I was right behind Mike, Alan Ayling and someone else here. Alan Ayling went left and Mike tied his shoe. Tough battle up Kirikee and I was losing them a little but kept working hard. The sun came out and it was a fantastic day but I had worn my black slightly heavier top so I warmed up a lot. Gained back a bit before the ascent of Carriglineen but it wasn't very technical so not much. There were some horses then on the ridge standing with the sun behind them and the wind making them look pretty epic while I had a tough time getting up the hill. Played mental games to keep myself running and got up but did lose a bit of time on Mike and the other guy. Alan Ayling had totally disappeared and I learned later he took a terrible route choice. The last descent was a thing of beauty, tough though. Very steep but I got good lines and passed other guy and was right up to Mike by the gate. Had to work very very hard to catch him and pass him on the last bit of road.
Happy enough with the time. Seem to be climbing a bit better but still work to do on the later climbs. I think I was about 10th. - actually 8th.
Tried to pace myself up the long fire road climb to Mullacor. Was with Mike Jordan and Becky Quin and some others at the start but did drop off a bit and was behind someone. Took a different route and cut up through the forest to the higher road and gained a few seconds to come out basically with them again. Alan Ayling was about too. Mostly power walked into the mist on the open mountain and was feeling pretty tired but was still moving ok and in a decent place. The top of Mullacor was totally shrouded in fog where there was a Gina telling me not to go into the mud pit. The descent was a bit vague at the top with the fog but I ran it confidently. Passed Becky pretty quickly off Mullacor and it cleared up to let me see a few people in front. Some walker guy seemed pretty angry and shouted at me "Tell your mates to watch where they're running". There were a lot of walkers. Worked on the reeling in the people in front but it was quite spread out and had only gained two places by Shay Elliot, including an injured Laurence. I was right behind Mike, Alan Ayling and someone else here. Alan Ayling went left and Mike tied his shoe. Tough battle up Kirikee and I was losing them a little but kept working hard. The sun came out and it was a fantastic day but I had worn my black slightly heavier top so I warmed up a lot. Gained back a bit before the ascent of Carriglineen but it wasn't very technical so not much. There were some horses then on the ridge standing with the sun behind them and the wind making them look pretty epic while I had a tough time getting up the hill. Played mental games to keep myself running and got up but did lose a bit of time on Mike and the other guy. Alan Ayling had totally disappeared and I learned later he took a terrible route choice. The last descent was a thing of beauty, tough though. Very steep but I got good lines and passed other guy and was right up to Mike by the gate. Had to work very very hard to catch him and pass him on the last bit of road.
Happy enough with the time. Seem to be climbing a bit better but still work to do on the later climbs. I think I was about 10th. - actually 8th.
Saturday May 7, 2016 #
12 PM
Running (road) warm up/down 10:54 2.12 km (5:09 / km) +12m 5:01 / km
ahr:127 max:140 shoes: Inov8 Road-X 255
I messed up my timing and got too involved with my Irish ranking system. Ended up leaving an hour later than planned so was going to be pretty rushed with this session, having to go to a BBQ for the afternoon. Quick warm up to the park entrance below the kyber. Even stayed on the road so it would be faster.
Running (road) hills 21:22 4.31 km (4:58 / km) +157m 4:12 / km
ahr:147 max:177 shoes: Inov8 Road-X 255
4x 530m hills recovery jog back down
A short session due to time constraints but I guess that'll make me fresher for the hill run tomorrow. First one I was a bit unsure how long it was going to be so I didn't kill it. Picked up the pace thereafter and felt really good. Actually felt like I was running well up the hill. Good sesh, but probably 6 of these were warranted.
2:28, 2:22. 2:18, 2:16
A short session due to time constraints but I guess that'll make me fresher for the hill run tomorrow. First one I was a bit unsure how long it was going to be so I didn't kill it. Picked up the pace thereafter and felt really good. Actually felt like I was running well up the hill. Good sesh, but probably 6 of these were warranted.
2:28, 2:22. 2:18, 2:16
Running (road) warm up/down 13:02 2.38 km (5:29 / km) +16m 5:18 / km
ahr:141 max:148 shoes: Inov8 Road-X 255
Cool down home. Not so quick as the warm up. Feeling good though. Happy I got the session in and the weather was improving for the BBQ.
Friday May 6, 2016 #
9 AM
Note
slept:7.75
Whoah did I crash last night. Drank loads of water and ate a ton of Brazil nuts and then pounded a bottle of chocolate milk. Stomach couldn't handle it and I felt terrible. Wasn't able to eat any dinner and it was pretty late so went to bed. Not the best. Feeling much better today though. Legs aren't even tired really, though I did miss the morning run.
Thursday May 5, 2016 #
9 AM
Note
slept:7.5
Went to bed pretty late after getting home late from the hill run. Wouldn't mind a bit more sleep.
7 PM
Running (off-road) 47:46 6.33 km (7:33 / km) +310m 6:04 / km
ahr:146 max:164 shoes: Inov8 X-Talon 2016
Original plan was to start at the Featherbeds but we remember Glendoo is "embargoed" and there was a guy there who had just had his car window smashed in so we changed the plan. Went to the car park above Lough Bray. A fantastic evening, not a breath of wind and the sun out I went up Kippure up the super steep climb and through some terrain. Views were unreal.
Descended the hill run route, although only after I went off the top the wrong way and got some bonus terrain running and went to the track on the featherbeds.
Descended the hill run route, although only after I went off the top the wrong way and got some bonus terrain running and went to the track on the featherbeds.
O-training (1:7500) 29:45 **** 3.77 km (7:53 / km) +65m 7:15 / km
ahr:149 max:161 spiked:6/11c shoes: Inov8 X-Talon 2016
There I pulled out an old course that I had done at some point and recovered from my fantastically organised map collection. Ran around that though my orienteering was pretty bad. Not 100% focused and you really need that in the Featherbeds with no controls out. Very enjoyable though and a great sunset just as I finished.
The cool thing about the Featherbeds is that you can exactly see all of the map features on google maps.
The cool thing about the Featherbeds is that you can exactly see all of the map features on google maps.
Running (off-road) 49:25 7.1 km (6:57 / km) +288m 5:47 / km
ahr:143 max:161 shoes: Inov8 X-Talon 2016
After putting on my headtorch I went back up the hill run route to the summit of Kippure. This was a tough climb after a good amount of running, but that was the main objective of this session really, to go uphill after 80 minutes. I was pretty happy with how I did actually seemed to be feeling pretty strong and was able to power up the last bit well. Cut the top corner on the road and then went down the road where a bee flew into my face before cuttting to the path above the cliffs above Lough Bray. Shone my torch at the car a few times so Gina would know I was on the way back and then down the path. Feeling tired on this last bit but a very enjoyable run.
Wednesday May 4, 2016 #
7 AM
Strength 24:01 [1]
slept:7.5
Felt like this was useful. Strength is not up to scratch.
Squats x 20
Star squats x2 stars each leg
Form lunges x 10 each leg
Sit ups x 20
Push ups x 10
Calf Raises x 30 each leg
Bridges x 10 raises each leg plus 30 seconds hold
Leg raises 30 each leg
Squats x 20
Star squats x2 stars each leg
Form lunges x 10 each leg
Sit ups x 20
Push ups x 10
Calf Raises x 30 each leg
Bridges x 10 raises each leg plus 30 seconds hold
Leg raises 30 each leg
7 PM
Running (road) warm up/down 16:32 2.37 km (6:59 / km) +80m 5:59 / km
ahr:128 max:154 shoes: Inov8 X-Talon 2016
Warm up to the start and then up to look at the start of the super steep hill that is Carrick.
Running (off-road) race 39:47 6.1 km (6:31 / km) +404m 4:54 / km
ahr:169 max:178 shoes: Inov8 X-Talon 2016
IMRA Carrick
Kept it steady along the road as the climb is horrific. Hit the climb and people were slipping about all over the place so gained a few places early on. Tried to settle into a good pace and it worked well for a while. The lactic accumulated though and after the second fire road I started to slow. I kept running though as that was the plan. Recovered quite quickly but in the forest bit I was stuck behind people and it was hard to overtake. Did manage a few spots. Another climb then and I held my place, which was hard work and then gained a few over the top through the rough descent and the forest. There was a long flatish single track then and I felt a bit weird here. Kinda dizzyish or something. I was a bit stuck behind people and not feeling strong enough to pass them in the terrain so I let myself recover a bit. On the last hill I tried to hold my position as much as I could. It mostly worked though some people came past me when the track opened out. The descent was great then. Nice and steep and fairly technical. Passed out a good chunk of people.
Fun, legs probably feeling the effects of the weekend a bit. Faster than 2014, when it was my best result of the summer league, even though I got a bit stuck in places but it was probably good for my pacing.
Got a CR on Strava for the descent. Boo ya.
Kept it steady along the road as the climb is horrific. Hit the climb and people were slipping about all over the place so gained a few places early on. Tried to settle into a good pace and it worked well for a while. The lactic accumulated though and after the second fire road I started to slow. I kept running though as that was the plan. Recovered quite quickly but in the forest bit I was stuck behind people and it was hard to overtake. Did manage a few spots. Another climb then and I held my place, which was hard work and then gained a few over the top through the rough descent and the forest. There was a long flatish single track then and I felt a bit weird here. Kinda dizzyish or something. I was a bit stuck behind people and not feeling strong enough to pass them in the terrain so I let myself recover a bit. On the last hill I tried to hold my position as much as I could. It mostly worked though some people came past me when the track opened out. The descent was great then. Nice and steep and fairly technical. Passed out a good chunk of people.
Fun, legs probably feeling the effects of the weekend a bit. Faster than 2014, when it was my best result of the summer league, even though I got a bit stuck in places but it was probably good for my pacing.
Got a CR on Strava for the descent. Boo ya.
Running (road) warm up/down 9:01 1.1 km (8:11 / km) +30m 7:12 / km
ahr:135 max:149 shoes: Inov8 X-Talon 2016
Cool down jog with Paul Mahon. Went back up the road, watched some people descending and had some chats.
Running (road) warm up/down 8:42 1.18 km (7:21 / km) +3m 7:15 / km
ahr:117 max:131 shoes: Inov8 X-Talon 2016
Cool down back to the car with Roisin and Aoife.
Tuesday May 3, 2016 #
Note
Some things learned from IOC and somethings already known. 3 main points:
1. Speed is ok, probably as good as it has ever been
2. I can orienteer well - but only for about 70 minutes
3. I can't go uphill for the life of me
3 weeks to EOC and 6 to next selection races so still some time to work on points 2.5 and 3. 3 is probably more important
1. Speed is ok, probably as good as it has ever been
2. I can orienteer well - but only for about 70 minutes
3. I can't go uphill for the life of me
3 weeks to EOC and 6 to next selection races so still some time to work on points 2.5 and 3. 3 is probably more important
9 AM
Note
slept:9.0
Plan (and I should stick to it this time):
Run up 12 flights of stairs (2x6) every weekday
Monday - IOC relay (done)
Tuesday - easy run
Wednesday - IMRA Carrick
Thursday - Long run 2 hours - I'd be tempted by the hills
Friday - am easy have a CNOC committee meeting which will use up all of my evening
Saturday - hill intervals
Sunday - IMRA Ballybraid
Run up 12 flights of stairs (2x6) every weekday
Monday - IOC relay (done)
Tuesday - easy run
Wednesday - IMRA Carrick
Thursday - Long run 2 hours - I'd be tempted by the hills
Friday - am easy have a CNOC committee meeting which will use up all of my evening
Saturday - hill intervals
Sunday - IMRA Ballybraid
6 PM
Running (road) 20:03 3.17 km (6:19 / km) +3m 6:18 / km
ahr:125 max:156 shoes: Inov8 Road-X 255
Easy run along the North Quays from Killician's. Went to the toll bridge and then back as far as the troll bridge. Ran up some stairs at the end. Nice to get out.
Monday May 2, 2016 #
10 AM
Running (off-road) warm up/down 8:10 0.9 km (9:01 / km) +3m 8:53 / km
ahr:117 max:142 shoes: Inov8 Oroc 2016
Warm up before the relay. A bit interrupted with demos and taping and getting maps and there was some missed at the end where I did some strides before the start.
Orienteering race (1:10000) 34:48 *** 5.36 km (6:30 / km) +232m 5:20 / km
ahr:171 max:182 spiked:17/22c slept:7.5 shoes: Inov8 Oroc 2016
IOC Relay 2016 - First Leg 5.2 km
Mixed the team order a bit because we thought the area would be quite simple and Conor would be solid at catching on the last leg. This put me on first and Kev middle. Kept relaxed on the start line with some banter. Went out map reading and picked up on the hill so kept near the front. Let people past as I read to the control. Darren broke left into the forest, Cillin & Shea kept on up the hill and I was the first of the people with my gaffel to 1.
Compass to 2 keeping it calm still, small bit high on the earthbank and Darren was running down it, but easy on a single tree.
Hit the road to 3, Darren was ~100m ahead and I held the distance to him as I planned ahead. Someone was behind me but not sure who. Came past the bit of forest I thought 3 would be in but there was no sign of a control, Darren was jumping into the forest a little later and I was super worried that I was messing it up already. Kept on the road and went up late, there was a control. Checked the code and it was surprisingly right.
Had no idea where 4 was actually going to be, as it was just on nothing on the map and the description said west side of building. Darren was at the bottom of the bridge and Cillin and Shea were on the road ahead of me. Stayed high and it was right.
Darren climbed out of 5 to the road and then dropped again. I stayed high as I had the pit. Didn't really see the open forest but saw a control in a pit so dropped into it. Ahead of Darren now.
Bit more planning ahead on the road to 6, looked to see if I could cut the green but no dice. Up the ride I ran the speed I could and Darren flew past. Tried to hang on but the legs were very heavy. Control was easy.
Got into the open early for 7 and gained back a little on Darren but he was too fast for me up the hill. Saw him leaving the control but I was in a bad way.
Suffered on up to 8, more climb and Darren was moving out of sight. control was easy, just follow paths.
Compass wasn't perfect for 9 and was slightly high but gained time on Darren as he missed it higher. He was back in sight but not caught.
Could see far ahead in the open forest to 10 and no sign of anyone in front but didn't know if there were people behind or where they were. The green on the left wasn't really there but I was ok on the compass so hit the first knoll where my control was perfectly.
More climb to 11 (how are we still climbing!!!) and the control was super weird, being mapped as the far side of the earthbank in the field when it was in the forest on the near side of the field.
Tried to stay high for 12, got pushed down a little and forced myself back up. Nearly overshot it a bit but turned and punched the boulder. Darren had disappeared.
Ran hard down to 13, following the clearing on my left. Crossed the road and to my relief there was a confused looking Darren beside a knoll. I thought it would be the knoll I was looking for but it really wasn't. Took a few seconds. Darren ran around I looked at my map and we headed to the right to where the control actually was.
Up to the road for 14, I cut down 2-3 rides early as Darren was flying up the road. Worked out pretty well
Running up to 15 I was not going quickly. Darren and Josh came running down the road so I had a little lead. I pushed hard to try and keep ahead. Nice piece of tape to lead me in the path for 15 and the control was fine.
I left 15 to the right though and that wasn't a thing. Had to backtrack up, dropping probably 15s which put me back in sight of Darren. I then was dumb to 16 and was way to left forgetting which side of the green I had been on. Punched with Darren.
Stayed low for 17 leading it out. Could hear crashing behind me which got a bit louder at some point and I went under the green for 17.
Horrific climb up to 18 then and I was suddenly alone. Eventually hit the path but I was going absolutely nowhere. Legs were giving nothing. I had no idea where Darren had gone.
19 was thankfully downhill so I tried to open up some speed. There wasn't much. Pretty fun jumping straight through the rhodedendrons but I wasn't snappy down the hill.
20 was easy enough.
For 21 I though about taking the main road and probably should have but I went left and had to drop into it.
22 was the biggest sufferfest of my life. I gave everything to get up that hill. Nearly forgot to punch it but became aware at the lest second.
Very long run in (Gina was 4 seconds faster) and the extra loop was killer. There was a lot of shouting and it was great to have the support.
I finished about 2 mins down on Darren in the end (no results up yet so I'm not sure).
Kev had a real solid run to gain back about 30s on Marcus putting Conor out 1:30 behind Shane.
There was proper tension in the arena as it seemed like the race was on. Unfortunately Conor dropped some time and CorkO (congrats) took back the title. The left us with 2nd place. I think our leg order tactics were still the right call though and I'd back Conor on the last leg again. 2nd is a solid improvement from 4th last year too :)
Storming run from CNOC 2 team to be 3rd to cross the line, except for a mispunch from Conall on last leg that would have been the talking point of the results.
Great to be in another really competitive IOC relay, though there were a few technical things that could have improved it. It's really great to have to work so hard for the result!
Mixed the team order a bit because we thought the area would be quite simple and Conor would be solid at catching on the last leg. This put me on first and Kev middle. Kept relaxed on the start line with some banter. Went out map reading and picked up on the hill so kept near the front. Let people past as I read to the control. Darren broke left into the forest, Cillin & Shea kept on up the hill and I was the first of the people with my gaffel to 1.
Compass to 2 keeping it calm still, small bit high on the earthbank and Darren was running down it, but easy on a single tree.
Hit the road to 3, Darren was ~100m ahead and I held the distance to him as I planned ahead. Someone was behind me but not sure who. Came past the bit of forest I thought 3 would be in but there was no sign of a control, Darren was jumping into the forest a little later and I was super worried that I was messing it up already. Kept on the road and went up late, there was a control. Checked the code and it was surprisingly right.
Had no idea where 4 was actually going to be, as it was just on nothing on the map and the description said west side of building. Darren was at the bottom of the bridge and Cillin and Shea were on the road ahead of me. Stayed high and it was right.
Darren climbed out of 5 to the road and then dropped again. I stayed high as I had the pit. Didn't really see the open forest but saw a control in a pit so dropped into it. Ahead of Darren now.
Bit more planning ahead on the road to 6, looked to see if I could cut the green but no dice. Up the ride I ran the speed I could and Darren flew past. Tried to hang on but the legs were very heavy. Control was easy.
Got into the open early for 7 and gained back a little on Darren but he was too fast for me up the hill. Saw him leaving the control but I was in a bad way.
Suffered on up to 8, more climb and Darren was moving out of sight. control was easy, just follow paths.
Compass wasn't perfect for 9 and was slightly high but gained time on Darren as he missed it higher. He was back in sight but not caught.
Could see far ahead in the open forest to 10 and no sign of anyone in front but didn't know if there were people behind or where they were. The green on the left wasn't really there but I was ok on the compass so hit the first knoll where my control was perfectly.
More climb to 11 (how are we still climbing!!!) and the control was super weird, being mapped as the far side of the earthbank in the field when it was in the forest on the near side of the field.
Tried to stay high for 12, got pushed down a little and forced myself back up. Nearly overshot it a bit but turned and punched the boulder. Darren had disappeared.
Ran hard down to 13, following the clearing on my left. Crossed the road and to my relief there was a confused looking Darren beside a knoll. I thought it would be the knoll I was looking for but it really wasn't. Took a few seconds. Darren ran around I looked at my map and we headed to the right to where the control actually was.
Up to the road for 14, I cut down 2-3 rides early as Darren was flying up the road. Worked out pretty well
Running up to 15 I was not going quickly. Darren and Josh came running down the road so I had a little lead. I pushed hard to try and keep ahead. Nice piece of tape to lead me in the path for 15 and the control was fine.
I left 15 to the right though and that wasn't a thing. Had to backtrack up, dropping probably 15s which put me back in sight of Darren. I then was dumb to 16 and was way to left forgetting which side of the green I had been on. Punched with Darren.
Stayed low for 17 leading it out. Could hear crashing behind me which got a bit louder at some point and I went under the green for 17.
Horrific climb up to 18 then and I was suddenly alone. Eventually hit the path but I was going absolutely nowhere. Legs were giving nothing. I had no idea where Darren had gone.
19 was thankfully downhill so I tried to open up some speed. There wasn't much. Pretty fun jumping straight through the rhodedendrons but I wasn't snappy down the hill.
20 was easy enough.
For 21 I though about taking the main road and probably should have but I went left and had to drop into it.
22 was the biggest sufferfest of my life. I gave everything to get up that hill. Nearly forgot to punch it but became aware at the lest second.
Very long run in (Gina was 4 seconds faster) and the extra loop was killer. There was a lot of shouting and it was great to have the support.
I finished about 2 mins down on Darren in the end (no results up yet so I'm not sure).
Kev had a real solid run to gain back about 30s on Marcus putting Conor out 1:30 behind Shane.
There was proper tension in the arena as it seemed like the race was on. Unfortunately Conor dropped some time and CorkO (congrats) took back the title. The left us with 2nd place. I think our leg order tactics were still the right call though and I'd back Conor on the last leg again. 2nd is a solid improvement from 4th last year too :)
Storming run from CNOC 2 team to be 3rd to cross the line, except for a mispunch from Conall on last leg that would have been the talking point of the results.
Great to be in another really competitive IOC relay, though there were a few technical things that could have improved it. It's really great to have to work so hard for the result!
Running (off-road) warm up/down 7:02 0.88 km (7:57 / km) +2m 7:52 / km
ahr:120 max:127 shoes: Inov8 Oroc 2016
Cool down with Shea and then Darren joined. Very very tired legs and not moving too fast.
Sunday May 1, 2016 #
11 AM
Running (off-road) warm up/down 4:51 0.65 km (7:29 / km) +13m 6:48 / km
ahr:134 max:149 shoes: Inov8 Oroc 2016
Warm up to the start, some banter with Kev about catching him, back to assembly and back to the start. Feeling solid if not fresh.
Orienteering race 1:31:59 **** 13.66 km (6:44 / km) +617m 5:30 / km
ahr:171 max:180 spiked:24/31c shoes: Inov8 Oroc 2016
IOC Long - Mahon Falls - 5th
The results are consistently slower than what everyone has recorded on their watches. I wonder what that's about. CNOC DOMA is having issues and so is the routegadget so map will come eventually.
I was confident enough today and the plan was to get around clean. Started easy as it was to be a long day and I knew the tough climbing was going to be at the end. I was clean through the first bit, even though the map was almost impossible to read with all of the black rock features. Thus I crossed the river right in the same time as top few. I bled a little time on the uphills to 8 and 9 but I wasn't too worried about it as I was trying to conserve energy a bit. On the way to #12 I saw a flash of an Irish top. Reckoned it was Kev. I started to open up the speed on this leg and gained on him, taking the right route and punched it just in front of Kev. I was with him for the loop on the other side of the hill. Pretty solid oing but could feel my legs on the hills. Kev was moving well which was surprising given how much I'd caught him and we were keeping a good check on each other's o. On the climb to 18 I started to feel the burn. Kev told me he was wrecked and it was up to me. He was still ahead of me to 18 but dropped height on the way to 19. I stayed high and never saw him again. I was good on the leg and then down the the river.
Took a gel at the water, probably should have taken two but I had not prepared myself. I was getting tired but still in 2nd place.
The loop on the other side of the road went terribly. Suffered big time on the climb to 23 but got the control ok. Then small misses on 24 and 25 and 2nd through 5th were within 15s of each other. Climbing to 26 was the end of me. I was giving it all I had and I saw Marcus going to 29. He started 12 mins ahead of me so I knew it was going to be pretty close. I worked too hard though and had to stop to read my map when I got to the right height. Around to 27 ( over seemed like too much climb for my poor legs) I was still trying to run hard and didn't pay enough attention to the map (again) and missed the control. Found a sheep pen but it was hidden under the circle so relocation took much longer than it should have. Tried hard for the end but didn't get anywhere and slowly dropped to 5th on the run-in.
Frustratingly close to the podium. The climbing legs and the last bit of long distance training haven't been enough clearly and I suffered both running and orienteering on the last loop. That mistake on 27 is killing me. I didn't react well to seeing Marcus. I tried to run faster when I should have trusted myself and kept doing what had been working. Still, misses on 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 tells something.
The results are consistently slower than what everyone has recorded on their watches. I wonder what that's about. CNOC DOMA is having issues and so is the routegadget so map will come eventually.
I was confident enough today and the plan was to get around clean. Started easy as it was to be a long day and I knew the tough climbing was going to be at the end. I was clean through the first bit, even though the map was almost impossible to read with all of the black rock features. Thus I crossed the river right in the same time as top few. I bled a little time on the uphills to 8 and 9 but I wasn't too worried about it as I was trying to conserve energy a bit. On the way to #12 I saw a flash of an Irish top. Reckoned it was Kev. I started to open up the speed on this leg and gained on him, taking the right route and punched it just in front of Kev. I was with him for the loop on the other side of the hill. Pretty solid oing but could feel my legs on the hills. Kev was moving well which was surprising given how much I'd caught him and we were keeping a good check on each other's o. On the climb to 18 I started to feel the burn. Kev told me he was wrecked and it was up to me. He was still ahead of me to 18 but dropped height on the way to 19. I stayed high and never saw him again. I was good on the leg and then down the the river.
Took a gel at the water, probably should have taken two but I had not prepared myself. I was getting tired but still in 2nd place.
The loop on the other side of the road went terribly. Suffered big time on the climb to 23 but got the control ok. Then small misses on 24 and 25 and 2nd through 5th were within 15s of each other. Climbing to 26 was the end of me. I was giving it all I had and I saw Marcus going to 29. He started 12 mins ahead of me so I knew it was going to be pretty close. I worked too hard though and had to stop to read my map when I got to the right height. Around to 27 ( over seemed like too much climb for my poor legs) I was still trying to run hard and didn't pay enough attention to the map (again) and missed the control. Found a sheep pen but it was hidden under the circle so relocation took much longer than it should have. Tried hard for the end but didn't get anywhere and slowly dropped to 5th on the run-in.
Frustratingly close to the podium. The climbing legs and the last bit of long distance training haven't been enough clearly and I suffered both running and orienteering on the last loop. That mistake on 27 is killing me. I didn't react well to seeing Marcus. I tried to run faster when I should have trusted myself and kept doing what had been working. Still, misses on 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 tells something.
Running (off-road) warm up/down 14:29 1.75 km (8:18 / km) +18m 7:54 / km
ahr:121 max:143 shoes: Inov8 Oroc 2016
Cool down with Marcus and Colm to look at the falls. Very tired legs on any kind of incline. It was interesting to discuss the exact lines that we took in the terrain. Met Ciara too and she came with for a bit. Colm's achilles was at him so we walked a decent bit of the way back.